(KMJ) – A Fresno County Sheriff’s dispatcher is credited with talking an armed suspect into peacefully surrendering to the Sheriff’s SWAT Crisis Negotiation Team.
Just after 4 a.m. Wednesday, Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home on Auberry road between Blue Heron and Rock Hill Lanes for reports of a domestic violence call. Once on scene, dispatchers notified deputies the suspect was threatening to shoot and kill any law enforcement agents who approached his property.
The man’s wife was eventually able to safely escape the house, but he remained barricaded inside. She told deputies her husband, 68-year old David Mascherini, was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and had access to several rifles and handguns.
Deputies staged near the home as the dispatcher continued to talk with the suspect over the phone, relaying updates to deputies of exactly where and what the man was doing inside the house. Around 9:15 a.m., Mascherini agreed to step outside, unarmed. Once he walked out of the house, SWAT deputies took him into custody.
Mascherini was transported to the hospital for evaluation. He now faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and making death threats.
